Our jury has been deliberating on our case for 3.5 days and comes Monday to resume deliberations. It is the most difficult part of a trial. But, perhaps an even more difficult part of a trial is the period between their walking out of the jury room to disclose their verdict. You search their faces to see if you can read the expression. If they are sullen looking, won’t look at you or your client and some appear to have been crying, you know you are in a world of pain. Even if they look like they have done your client a large favor and appear to be pleased, you never know if they are mistaken about what they have done and it turns out to be less than what you declined in settlement. So, there is no peace after they begin deliberations with the exception of this weekend when you know they aren’t coming in with a verdict and you can relax. The good news is that this jury was one of the most dedicated and committed groups I have seen in a very long time who reflected that they understood the tremendous importance of this case to patient safety. I was very proud of them for their close attention during the trial and feel confident they got the message about patient safety.